San Francisco 49ers: Biggest Questions That Need to Be Answered Before Week 1

The San Francisco 49ers need to get their backup quarterback situation figured out in the next few weeks.

There are a couple other burning questions about this roster that need to be answered before Week 1, and the evaluation process will continue to be in high gear in the team's second preseason game.

Here's what I'll be looking for on Saturday, when the 49ers hit the road to take on the Houston Texans.

Who Deserves the No. 2 Quarterback Spot?

I wasn't surprised to find out that Josh Johnson has been the No. 4 quarterback all through training camp, and apparently Johnson himself hasn't been surprised, either (h/t SFGate.com).

Johnson just isn't as good as Scott Tolzien or Colin Kaepernick. Even worse for him, the ceiling is much higher for the two youngsters than it is for Johnson. Frankly, I'll be shocked if Johnson remains on the roster heading into the regular season, as I expect he'll be cut towards the end of training camp. 

Many of you know from my last post that I believe Tolzien is better suited to be the team's No. 2 quarterback right now than Kaepernick.

From my perspective, Tolzien is ready to step in at any given moment should Alex Smith go down with an injury. He is confident in everything he's doing and he knows the playbook. He looks poised in the pocket, and given some good protection, I see him being able to keep the offense going well enough to continue winning games. 

He's even so good that teammate Donte Whitner has taken to calling him, "Baby Drew Brees," according to Cam Inman of MercuryNews.com. 

I love Kaepernick's potential. His dual-threat abilities delight me to no end, but the reality is that he doesn't look ready to take over full time if Smith goes down. He doesn't see the field as well as Tolzien, doesn't have the same pocket presence, is slow in his progressions—leading to many late throws—and needs to work on his touch.

That said, a couple of performances from Kaepernick that prove he's getting better in these areas will make him the clear-cut No. 2 because of his incredibly high ceiling. 

Both of them need to see some in-game snaps with the No. 1 offense, as far as I'm concerned, so that the coaching staff can compare apples to apples.

Is Perrish Cox the No. 3 Cornerback for the 49ers?

Before training camp, the biggest question in the secondary was whether or not Chris Culliver would take over for Tarell Brown as the No. 2 cornerback opposite Carlos Rogers. That isn't a question any more, from the looks of it, as Brown is clearly ahead of Culliver.

Culliver is a good cornerback. We all saw him make great strides as a cover corner in his rookie season and he's having a good camp so far, by all accounts. ESPN.com's Mike Sando writes about the competition between Culliver and Cox:

"

Culliver was ahead of Cox on the depth chart against the Vikings. I didn't notice him much, which can be a good thing regarding cornerbacks. Culliver also seems to have had a strong camp. But with Cox making plays on defense and special teams, this is a competitive situation. 

"

As much as I like Culliver's play on the field, Cox has shown some amazing things thus far in training camp and in the team's first preseason game. If he can continue to put together solid performances like that, the team will have no choice but to make him the No. 3 cornerback. 

What it really means, though, in the grand scheme of things, is that the 49ers are entering the 2012 season with four excellent cornerbacks. You couldn't dream up a better scenario if you tried, and having these four cover corners on the team's roster will allow Vic Fangio to have more freedom to apply pressure against teams like the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints.

It's like Trent Baalke actually knows what he's doing or something...

How Many Wide Receivers and Tight Ends Will the 49ers Keep?

One of the mantras of this new-look 49ers team is, "competition at every position." Baalke and Jim Harbaugh have done an excellent job of making their mantra into a reality, especially at the wide receiver position—the team's greatest Achilles heel in 2011. 

Here are the receivers on the team right now that are good enough to stay on the team: Randy Moss, Michael Crabtree, Mario Manningham, Kyle Williams, A.J. Jenkins, Ted Ginn, Chris Owusu and Nathan Palmer.

That's eight receivers—two too many for the active roster. 

The 49ers also have a few good tight ends on their roster. Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker are both automatic inclusions into the active roster, unless they are injured (Walker's current knee injury isn't expected to keep him out long, according to CSNBayArea.com's Matt Maiocco). 

Additionally, Nate Byham and Konrad Reuland are NFL-caliber tight ends. That's four quality tight ends—at least one too many for the active roster. 

Right now the 49ers have 12 players fighting for eight or nine roster spots. Out of those 12, at least seven of them are secured, barring injury. Something has to give, and these next few games are going to be crucial in determining which players stay and which ones will be cut before Week 1.

Thanks for reading. You can hit me up on Twitter @JesseReed78 to chat NFL, 49ers or sports in general. I'm always up for a hearty debate.